Wilco — 2/10/16, Atlanta, GA (The Tabernacle) [Night 1 of 2]

[bböp]

Though it was nice to be back in the audience after regrettably (kind of) missing a week's worth of shows through some of my old stomping grounds, I must admit that I didn't necessarily have the highest hopes for the first of two nights at the Tabernacle.

 

Part of that was just personally feeling a little tired, but part of it was also having heard about some recent crowds being overly chatty or rowdy. Given the Tabernacle's status as a Live Nation venue and some less-than-stellar experiences with GA venues in the South in the past, I just figured maybe Night 1 in Atlanta would be kind of just OK and then Night 2 would be the show where things possibly clicked.

 

I couldn't have been happier to be wrong this time, though, because tonight was a pretty excellent show all around. I think there were certainly some chatters, people yelling at inopportune times, folks shooting video in the front rows and at least one Bargy McBargerson girl, but for some reason, none of it seemed to derail the Wilco train.

 

In terms of the setlist, it wasn't really what the band played (which wasn't all that different from what it has been doing) but how it played it. So we got some serious air by John at that point during I'm The Man Who Loves You, an energetic solo by Nels on Impossible Germany and a little extra juice by Pat on songs like Box Full Of Letters and The Late Greats.

 

Normally cutting Spiders — and the first encore, entirely — wouldn't be a recipe for a standout show, but going straight to the acoustic set paid off this time! Even without California Stars, the hootenanny turned into the best kind of singalong, one that was enthusiastic without being over the top, lively without being disgraceful. I really enjoyed being in the crowd for that tonight.

 

Of course, I was delighted by the decision to play Space Oddity again since I hadn't seen it yet. And Jeff and Co. totally nailed it, IMHO. As others have said, the lead harmonies between Jeff and John were just right. Furthermore, Nels' playing on that resonator guitar was awesome. Structurally it's not an overly complex song but the arrangement and phrasing is sneaky; it reminded me a tiny bit of when Wilco covered Thunderclap Newman's Something In The Air years ago. (Incidentally, SO wasn't actually on the printed setlist, I don't think, but I think the band intended to play it at least from the start of the encore because a lyric sheet was brought out for Jeff then.)

 

In terms of Banter Corner, there wasn't a whole lot on offer. After Magnetized, Jeff said something about that being "our Star Wars" and how it belonged to all of us or something to that effect. He also later mentioned how "we have people here. Some of our extended family reaches to your region." And in sort of gently chiding a woman [edit: man] in the front row who I think may have been taking video, Jeff couldn't help but admire what he called her [edit: his] "fried chicken sweater. Best sweater of the tour, for sure."

 

But this definitely was a night of few words, preserving as much time as possible for music. And the audience seemed to embrace that attitude, around me anyway. Special mention to the young woman standing next to me, Savannah, who was dancing and singing along (in a good way) from the get-go and reminded me how fun it can be to have the privilege of seeing a band like this up close in a relatively intimate venue and how despite our moaning and groaning around here sometimes, we shouldn't take that for granted.

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played (Spiders, presumably the electric version, was listed as the first encore on the printed setlist but not played; and as previously mentioned, Space Oddity wasn't on the printed list but was played):

 

More...

Random Name Generator

The Joke Explained

You Satellite

Taste The Ceiling

Pickled Ginger

Where Do I Begin

Cold Slope>

King Of You

Magnetized

Handshake Drugs

Camera

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart>

Art Of Almost

Via Chicago

Bull Black Nova

Hummingbird

Box Full Of Letters

Heavy Metal Drummer>

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Dawned On Me

Impossible Germany

The Late Greats

---------------------------------

Misunderstood*

It's Just That Simple*

War On War*

I'm Always In Love*

Jesus, etc.*

A Shot in the Arm*

Space Oddity* [David Bowie]

 

* — performed hootenanny style with Jeff on acoustic guitar, John on acoustic guitar/bass, Nels on dobro and resonator, Glenn on percussion, Mikael on melodica/acoustic guitar and Pat on banjitar/glockenspiel

[SarahC]

I hope we get Spiders tomorrow.

Excellent show.

I can't say anything else that would add anything.

It was one of the hardest shows for me to get through for several reasons. I cried harder than I every have cried.

Not much banter at all.

[mondrarytomic]

A couple of points for myself:

 

- This was my 8th show but the first in the city I live. I've been to the Tabernacle dozens of times over the years and thought it was a great venue for the band. 

 

- The omission of an electric encore and the dive straight into the hootenanny was a little surprising. Some of my favorite memories over the last year and a half have been some of the crazy stuff they'll pull out during that electric encore (The Lonely 1, Just a Kid, Dark Neon to mention a few)

 

- I had a seat in the front row of the first level and it was the first time I haven't been down front (with the exception of Sandpoint, no thanks to their ridiculous festival setup). While I was glad to have a seat after a long day at work it did kind of take away from being with the hardcores down front.

 

I'll be in the exact same seat tonight as I was last night, the weather will be a little warmer today for those of you who will be waiting in line.

[SarahC]

The person with the chicken sweater was a guy.

He and his wife were really nice, even though he tried to take video.

[tinnitus photography]

- The omission of an electric encore and the dive straight into the hootenanny was a little surprising. Some of my favorite memories over the last year and a half have been some of the crazy stuff they'll pull out during that electric encore (The Lonely 1, Just a Kid, Dark Neon to mention a few)

seems like this tour is not gonna be featuring any sort of deep cuts.

[jff]

Looks like a good setlist.  I'll be there tonight. It'll be interesting to see how they change up the song choices. I'll be happy if they at least swap out Via Chicago for something else.  They've played that every time I've seen them.  Good song, I'm just hoping for something I haven't heard as much.

[SarahC]

Looks like a good setlist. I'll be there tonight. It'll be interesting to see how they change up the song choices. I'll be happy if they at least swap out Via Chicago for something else. They've played that every time I've seen them. Good song, I'm just hoping for something I haven't heard as much.

I'm hoping there will be some different stuff tonight too.

[theashtraysays]

Via Chicago - Bull Black Nova is the one-two punch that just slays me.  Well, BBN itself slays me, but coming off of Via Chicago is just delightful.  I won't even need to bring the signage tonight.  Once again last night I drew some ire from the security folks for the sign (same thing happened in Bloomington last fall), but perseverance and patience worked out and the sign once again made its way into the show and seemed to be well received by all.

I thought the crowd was great.  Balcony was standing and dancing, and the floor was really into it.  Could hear a little chatter during Magnetized, but not a lot really.  For the encore, a huge singalong for everything.  Seemed that they were all having a good time on stage.  We all certainly were.  Like the others said, not a lot of banter or chatter.  Lotta smiles.  They played from 9 sharp to about 11:15.  Nice to go a few minutes beyond 11 and not cut any of the hootenanny.

Back again for night 2!

[Boss_Tweedy]

Despite having my Wilco cap grabbed (which I already discussed in a previous post), I thought it was a solid show. No big surprises other than the Bowie cover to end it (which I really enjoyed). As a fan since day one, I always prefer sets that include more material from A.M. and Being There. Wednesday's set was short on those two. I was on the floor, not far from the front. I'd kinda hoped for more banter with the audience, but I didn't really expect it. Overall a very entertaining show from a band that's at the top of its game in terms of performing live. And I love The Tabernacle. It had been about 18 years since I'd last seen a show there, but I dig it.